In U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,273, there is described an improved machine for efficiently making taco shells of high quality. In the described machine, tortillas are placed on a flexible endless belt which is advanced intermittently through a loading station through a vat of hot cooking oil. After each tortilla is placed on the moving belt, a pivotal plunger carried by the belt is rotated into contact with the tortilla and a section of belt on which the tortilla rests is collapsed around the plunger to form the tortilla into the desired U-shape. Each section of the belt is supported between spaced parallel rods, the ends of which are connected at spaced points along a pair of endless drive chains. Intermittent motion is imparted to the belt when the drive mechanism advances each rod in succession towards the rod in front of its to fold the section of belt around the plunger. Successive collapsed sections of the belt are pushed through the cooking oil vat where separate drive means engaging the chain puts tension on the chain, thereby opening up the folded sections of belt, allowing the plunger to be tilted back away from the belt and the fried tortillas to be removed from the plungers.